Cabinet



Nv.z2, 1960 CABINE Filed Feb. 17. 1958 J. B. HENNION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @Awww Nov. 22, l1960 J. B. HENNION CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1958 United States Patent `CABINET Joseph B. Hennion, Niles, Mich., assigner to Tyler Refrlgeration Corporation, Niles, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Feb. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 715,741

5 Claims. (Cl. S12-311) 'This invention relates, in general, to a new and improved dispenser of draft beer and the like, and in particular, to a new and improved cabinet or closure for enclosing a keg or barrel of beer beneath a beer tap, which closure forms part of a conventional bar of a tavern, cocktail lounge, and the like.

Heretofore, in taverns and the like, where draft beer is dispensed, it is common practice to directly draw or tap a keg or barrel of beer located in a cabinet immediately beneath the counter top of the bar. Such cabinets have had hinged doors and the barrel, being relatively heavy, has heretofore been awkward to handle. Because the hinged doors opened outwardly, the passageway or aisle behind the counter became clogged when the doors were opened; and because no provision has been made for conveniently inserting the keg into the cabinet, sliding doors have heretofore been unsuitable; sliding doors usually requiring tracks or the like which become damaged during the insertion and removal of the keg.

Accordingly, another general object of my invention is the improvement in prior type cabinets whereby the space near the cabinet is not clogged by the doors when access thereto is desired and whereb-y heavy objects may be conveniently inserted in, and removed from, the cabinet.

Still another specific object of my invention is to improve prior art cabinets utilized as part of bars in taverns and the like, by utilizing sliding doors and a convenient means of inserting a keg or barrel within the cabinet without damage to the tracks of the sliding doors.

I propose to accomplish these general and specific objects by the provision of sliding doors in a cabinet and a roller mounted sliding rack capable of being moved partially outwardly from the cabinet. My sliding rack is so constructed and arranged to permit the easy insertion and removal of a keg or the like to and from the sliding rack, and means are provided outwardly of the cabinet which prevents the door tracks from being damaged when the rack is being used.

Accordingly, a more specific object of my invention is the provision of a sliding rack in a beer dispensing cabinet having sliding doors and means for preventing the damage of the tracks of the sliding doors when the sliding rack is utilized.

An additional important feature of my invention is the construction and arrangement of the sliding rack whereby a dolly or hand-truck may easily bring a keg or barrel for direct placement on, or remove the keg from, the rack when the rack is in its outwardly extending position.

Still another feature of my invention is the provision of a means in the form of an air baille plate located above the keg when in the cabinet and so constructed and arranged to cooperate with a fan in the cabinet for directing the cool air throughout the entire length of the line from the keg to the tap.

Other and more particular objects of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the Patented Nov. 22, 1960 rfollowing description and drawings forming a part hereof and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention and illustrating the slide out rack conveniently receiving a keg for insertion in the cabinet;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cabinet shown in Fig. 1 with the keg enclosed within the cabinet; and

Fig. 3 is a side, elevational, sectional view illustrating to advantage the inner parts of my closure.

Turning now to the drawings, there is illustrated my new and improved closure or cabinet (shown fragmen- -tarily), for dispensing draft beer and the like, indicated -in its entirety as 10, forming part of a counter or bartop 11 (also shown fragmentarily) and having a conventional spigot or tap 12 from which beer or the like is dispensed and a conventional water spigot or tap 13 from which water is dispensed in ia known manner. Suitable and conventional drain trays 14 and drains 15 (Fig. 3), as well as combination instruments 16- indicating the carbonation pressure and keg temperature, are provided; temperature instrument 16 beingconnected to a thermal responsive coil -1`7 located within the closure as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The closure, being generally of a conventional type, is provided with an insulated top 18, side and back walls 19 and 20, respectively, an inclined bottom wall 21; the latter being further provided with suitable and conventional draining means 22 for the drainage of water and the like from the perspin'ng walls, water coils 23 for cooling the water for tap 13 and the refrigeration coils 24.

As hereinbefore mentioned, an outstanding feature of my invention is the provision of means permitting the utilization of sliding doors in a beer dispensing closure of this type which have heretofore been unsuitable because ofthe damage likely to occur through the insertion and removal of a conventional pressurized container, such as a beer keg or barrel from the enclosure. Thus, to conveniently accomplish the utilization of sliding doors 25 and 26, I have provided suitable upper tracks 27 and lower tracks 28 upon which the sliding doors operate in a conventional manner and have provided a new and improved slide out rack, indicated in its entirety as 30, and comprising a lower, substantially rectangular,r reinforced oor 31, made of wire or the like of suitable stiffness and rigidity to support 1a barrel or keg 32, from which is upwardly extended a U-shaped wire rack `or frame 33 opening outwardly and of the same general dimension as the lower end of the barrel or keg.

As illustrated in Figs. l and 2, to permit the easy access of a hand truck or dolly to insert the barrel 32 on the slide out rack 30, I have formed a cut-away portion 34 whereby the barrel may be precisely placed on the rack 30. It is to be noted that the slide out rack 30 is mounted on a plurality of rollers 3S suitably horizontally mounted on Ia U-shaped cabinet rack 36 made of angle irons or the like and permanently affixed to the sides and bottom of the closure 10 as illustrated. As illustrated, cabinet rack 36 is wholly within the cabinet 10 and the upper ange 37 is arranged to prevent tipping of the slide out rack when extended.

To prevent damage of the rack when loaded with the heavy keg 32 and to further prevent damage to the lower door tracks 28, still another roller 38 coated with rubber or the like is mounted outwardly of the outer end of the closure 10 and tracks 28 as more clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. This roller 38 is so constructed and arranged to be of the same height as the rollers 35 and is, in this embodiment, substantially within a cover or the like 39.

Cover 39 permits the roller 3S to' function, as illustrated particularly in` Fig. 3, by being open at the top, yet covers the roller so as to prevent dirt and the like from accumulating on the roller and to prevent damage l to the roller itself during use.

From the above description, it can be seen that a dolly, such as illustrated in Fig. 1, may precisely position the barrel or keg 32 on the rack 30 when in extended or outward position and the barrel may be slidingly received within the closure, through operation of the rack 30, as illustrated in Fig. 2; roller 38 functioning to prevent damage to the track 28 during this operation. When the barrel 32 is so located, as illustrated in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the same may be connected to the spigot 12 by flexible line 40 in the conventional manner.

As hereinbefore mentioned, still another important feature of my invention is the provision of a means functioning to cool the entire line from the keg 32 to and through the tap or spigot 12. This latter function is accomplished, in the embodiment disclosed, by a bale plate `41 angularly disposed with respect to the refrigeration coils 24 and to the spigot whereby air from the refrigeration coils 24 may be directed upwardly the full length of the line 40 to the spigot. A fan 42 is located behind the coil 24 to direct the air across to the baille plate where it is deflected upwardly through a relatively large hole 43 in the top 11 and out relatively small holes 44 on top of the spigot (Fig. 2). In this embodiment, the baffle plate 41 may be apertured to permit the line 40 to be extended therethrough if necessary or desirable and it is to be noted that the baille plate is relatively narrow so as not to prevent the fan from directing air to cooling coils 23.

While I have described my closure in connection with one keg and one slide out rack, obviously, more than one slide out rack, such as illustrated at 31' may be used in conjunction with more than one keg and sliding doors and where herein the various parts of my invention have been referred to as located in a right or left or an upper or lower or an inward or outward position, it will be understood that this is done solely for the purpose of facilitating description and that such references relate only to the relative positions of the parts as shown in the drawings.

Also, it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the` scope or spirit of the invention and the invention is defined and comprehended solely by the appended claims which should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.

I claim:

l. A beverage dispenser comprising a cabinet for eni closing a beverage container, said cabinet having an access opening in a vertical rear wall thereof through which the beverage container is adapted to be moved into and out of said cabinet, sliding door means, and means including lower track means extending lengthwise of said rear wall at the bottom of said access opening for mountu ing said sliding door means for movement in the vertical plane of said access opening to open and close the same, a rack for supporting the beverage container, means within said cabinet for mounting said rack for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly of said cabinet in a horizontal plane at the lower end of said access opening and above said lower track means, and roller means below said access opening mounted for rotation on an axis extending lengthwise of and outwardly of said rear wall with its upper periphery lying in the plane of the bottom of said rack to support said rack above said lower track means when said rack is disposed in a position extending outwardly of said access opening.

2. A beverage dispenser comprising a cabinet for enclosing a beverage container, said cabinet having an access opening in a vertical rear wall thereof through which the beverage container is adapted to be moved into and out of said cabinet, sliding door means, and means including lower track means extending lengthwise of said rear wall at the bottom of said access opening for mounting said sliding door means for movement in the vertical plane of said access opening to open and close the same, a rack for supporting the beverage container, means within said cabinet for mounting said rack for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly of said cabinet in a horizontal plane at the lower end of said acces opening and above said lower track means, roller means below said access opening mounted for rotation on an axis extending lengthwise of and outwardly of said rear wall with its upper periphery lying in the plane of the bottom of said rack, and a cover mounted outwardly on said rear wall below said access opening for enclosing said roller means, said cover having an opening extending lengthwise along its upper end for exposing the upper periphery of said roller means for supporting said rack above said lower track means when said rack is disposed in a position extending outwardly of said access opening.

3. A beverage dispenser comprising a cabinet for enclosing a beverage container, said cabinet having an access opening in a vertical rear wall thereof through which the beverage container is adapted to be moved into and out of said cabinet, sliding door means, and means including lower track means extending lengthwise of said rear wall at the bottom of said access opening for mounting said sliding door means for movement in the vertical plane of said access opening to open and close the same, a rack for supporting the beverage container, means within said cabinet for mounting said rack for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly of said cabinet in a horizontal plane at the lower end of said access opening and above said lower track means, roller means below said access opening mounted for rotation on an axis extending lengthwise of and outwardly of said rear wall with its upper periphery lying in the plane of the bottom of said rack to support said rack above said lower track means when said rack is disposed in a position extending outwardly of said access opening, and frame means connected with and extending vertically upwardly and transversely rearwardly of the upper surface of said rack to define an abutment for locating the beverage container thereon, and said rack being unobstructed at the forward portion of its upper surface to facilitate the positioning of the beverage container thereon.

4. A beverage dispenser comprising a cabinet for enclosing a beverage container, said cabinet having an access opening in a vertical rear wall thereof through which the beverage container is adapted to be moved into and out of said cabinet, sliding door means, and means including lower track means extending lengthwise of said rear wall at the bottom of said access opening for mounting said sliding door means for movement in the vertical plane of said access opening to open and close the same, a rack for supporting the beverage container, means within said cabinet for mounting said rack for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly of said cabinet in a horizontal plane at the lower end of said access opening and above said lower track means, roller means below said access opening mounted for rotation on an axis extending lengthwise of and outwardly of said rear wall with its upper periphery lying in the plane of the bottom of said rack to support said rack above said lower track means when said rack is disposed in a position extending outwardly of said access opening, and frame means connected with an extending vertically upwardly and transversely rearwardly of the upper surface of said rack to define an abutment for locating the beverage container thereon, and said rack having an opening in the forward portion thereof through which the bottom of the beverage dispenser may be engaged and disengaged in positioning and removing the beverage container rela- Vtive to said rack. l

5. A beverage dispenser comprising a cabinet for enclosing a beverage container, said cabinet having an access opening in a vertical rear wall thereof through which the beverage container is adapted to be moved into and out of said cabinet, sliding doors means, and means including lower track means extending lengthwise of said rear wall at the bottom of said access opening for mounting said sliding door means for movement in the vertical plane of said access opening to open and close the same, a rack for supporting the beverage container, means within said cabinet for mounting said rack for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly of said cabinet in a horizontal plane at lthe lower end of said access opening and above said lower track means, roller means below said access opening mounted for rotation on an axis extending lengthwise of and outwardly of said rear wall with its upper periphery lying in the plane of the bottom of said rack to support said rack above said lower track means when said rack is disposed in a position extending outwardly of said access opening, and vertically upwardly extending frame means for said rack extending along one side of said rack and transversely rearwardly thereof to define an abutment for locating the beverage container on said rack, and said rack having an opening extending inwardly of the front edge thereof forwardly and laterally 6 of said frame means through which the bottom of the beverage dispenser may be engaged and disengaged for positioning and removing the beverage container relative to rack when the latter is disposed in its outermost position relative to said access opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 362,200 Campbell May 3, 1887 414,907 Hill Nov. 12, 1889 758,989 Lucas May 3, 1904 878,434 Van Houten Feb. 4, 1908 888,493 Harrington May 26, 1908 1,664,489 Schmidt Apr. 3, 1928 2,076,922 Simard Apr. 13, 1937 2,182,116 Copeman Dec. 5, 1939 2,198,436 Hoffman Apr. 23, 1940 2,257,070 Perlick Sept. 23, 1941 2,506,843 Seiler May 9, 1950 2,610,101 Buington et al. Sept. 9, 1952 2,680,053 Bohn June 1, 1954 2,861,603 Terlecki Nov. 25, 1958 

